


She's My Everything

by PrincePierce



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6462289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincePierce/pseuds/PrincePierce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ludwig, a petsitter, watches over Liberty, a pooch who means an awful lot to her owner, Amelia. The two have been through a lot together, and Amelia is really nervous about leaving her best friend with a stranger, even IF his credentials are good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She's My Everything

“She’s a pretty well behaved dog, but you’ve gotta be pretty firm with her,” Amelia explained, scratching absently behind the pooch’s ears. Liberty’s tongue lolled as she panted and what seemed to be grinning as her master paid her attention. Sitting up against Amelia’s leg, she appeared oblivious to the new man who sat on the couch, across from the two.

“I’ll be back at about 6 each night, so she’s yours until then! I try to feed her before I leave, but if there’s no food in her bowl, you can feed her. She never eats the whole thing in a single sitting, so no food means she hasn’t had any yet,” Amelia hummed, going down the mental list in her head. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow as she struggled to think about everything she wanted to tell the dog sitter. She’d made a list, but where was it now? Who knows.

“If the weather isn’t too bad, we usually go on a run or a walk. 2-ish is the best time. After the daily lunch rush and before all the kids get outta school,” she told him, then opened up a notebook that had been laying on the coffee table between her and the sitter. “This is my phone number, the address of my work, and phone and address of Liberty’s vet,” Amelia sighed, scribbling down numbers frantically. 

She was really nervous. It was like leaving her child with a babysitter for the first time. Sure, this guy had all the proper credentials and awesome reviews, but that only gave her so much peace of mind. With an uneased sigh, she stood and held out her hand towards the dog sitter.

“Thank you, Mr.Beilschmidt. Take good care of her for me?” Amelia breathed as Ludwig took a hold of her hand and gave it a firm grip with a soft shake.

“Of course, Miss Jones. Liberty is in safe hands, I assure you,” Ludwig smiled softly with a nod. He released Amelia’s hand then looked down to Liberty, who had started to paw at Amelia’s pants. She whined softly and pressed her head against her owner’s leg, to which Amelia knelt down and hugged the poor pooch.

“Be good, Lib. I’ll be home tonight, alright?” She hummed, then kissed her furry daughter’s head and started out the door. Liberty whined, her whines become more and more frantic and loud, turning to cries once the door was closed. Sitting right at the door, the heartbroken baby howled sorrowfully.

At this point, Ludwig really understood how important this dog was to his new employer. Upon closer inspection of the room around him, pictures of the two were what appeared most often. The woman was a military woman, and this was her partner. Not just a pet, but a friend who really had been through thick and thin with her. There was a shadow box hanging to the left of her little television with two purple hearts and two sets of dog tags.

“Liberty?” Ludwig whispered, seeing as though the dog had given up her crying and resolved to lay out in front of the door. Her ears twitched as her name was called softly in Ludwig’s deep tone. She looked up, eyes watery like she was about to cry. With a sigh, Ludwig knelt down and clicked his tongue, beckoning her. 

After a couple of minutes of persistent calling, Liberty gave a groan and got up, slowly padding over to Ludwig with resignation. She stopped about two feet in front of him and sat down, looking at him now with curious eyes, her nose twitching with the intake of air, testing for scent. Ludwig slowly lifted his hand, bringing it halfway between him and Liberty. She pressed her cold, wet nose against his hand, taking long inhales and short exhales. When her tail started to wag, Ludwig broke into a smile.

“You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?” He whispered, then ran his hand along the top of Liberty’s head. “She’ll be back later. Until then, let’s do a bit of playing,” he grinned, and stood, to which Liberty copied. She gave a bark, then trotted down a hallway, only to return a few moments later with a dirty fraying rope, which seemed to still be holding together nicely. There were multiple knots in it, one at each end and one in the middle. The middle knot sat in Liberty’s mouth while her tail swayed quickly back and forth.

Enthusiastically, Ludwig began to speak to the now upbeat pup, bent over with his hand positioned to grab the toy from her mouth. “Is that your toy?” He asked her in an excited hushed tone, making her lower her front in a playful manner as she waggled her but side to side. Slowly, Ludwig inched closer to her, before striking and grabbing the rope with a firm hand.

The tug of war started quickly, and ended nearly an hour later when Liberty laid down, her rope trophy settled between her paws. Her tail slipped slowly, side to side, as her tongue lolled out to the left while she panted. Ludwig, panting himself, stood up from the seat he had taken on the floor and wandered to the kitchen.

Realizing it probably wasn’t very gracious of him to simply start rummaging through her personal belongings, although he assumed most of them were just dishes in the cabinets, he frowned and crossed his arms. He swallowed and scratched the back of his head. He’d rather go without, but he bet that Liberty would probably enjoy a bowl of water.

The bowls were found setting against a wall, near the small dining table that had been nestled under a window with a view to the spacious backyard. The dining room, which was attached to the kitchen was quaint, and made Ludwig smile. Most things about the owner’s home was well put together, quite “Americana” in feel, and reminded him of old depictions of country homes he’d seen in books. Warm, sunny colors, paned windows with sunbeams through the glass, the occasional gingham tablecloth or curtain, and even a barn star on the living room wall. Aside from a rolling top desk with stacks of papers and mail nestled beside a desktop, the house was very clean and well taken care of. There was definitely a lot of love in the little house.

The sudden and brash ringing of his phone yanked Ludwig out of his dreamy thoughts and observations, making him blink with realization. His phone was pulled from his pocket, reading the ID as a number he assumed to be Amelia, checking in on Liberty. He was correct.

“Ludwig?” She asked, once he answered the phone, even the his voice was hard to mistake for someone else’s. “How are things going?” Amelia inquired, her voice nervous, just slightly. Ludwig smiled and laughed a bit.

“Everything is fine! I was just getting a drink for Liberty after playing. She’s a very strong dog, Miss Jones,” Ludwig explained, now holding his phone to his ear via his shoulder, his hands holding Liberty’s water bowl and handling the faucet. There was an audible sigh of relief from Amelia, who sounded more confident now.

“So she’s playing and everything is okay? That’s wonderful. Oh, and help yourself to anything in the kitchen. There’s plenty there to just toss into the microwave,” she explained. “I’m not much of a cook, so that’s about all you’re really gonna find,” Amelia hummed, a bit embarrassed with the contents of her cupboard. However, when Ludwig chuckled, it put her at ease once again.

“Thank you very much,” he responded, thinking that he would probably go and get the things to make a nice dinner for Amelia. After all, a microwave dinner every night must grow tiresome. When he took Liberty on the walk, he’d simply pop into a store to grab food to cook. And after a long day at work, he was sure Amelia would appreciate dinner.

“Well, my lunch break is almost finished. I’ll probably call back when I’m headed home, so you will be able to leave any time after that,” she sighed. Ludwig nodded, although it was useless while on the phone. “And thank you again for taking care of Liberty. You really don’t know how much I appreciate it,” she whispered now, and swallowed.

“It’s my pleasure,” he nodded, setting down the bowl full of water next to Liberty’s food bowl. “Have a good day, Miss Jones. Liberty and I will take a little break and then go on our walk,” Ludwig assured her, watching Liberty click tiredly across the dining room to the bowl.

“Alright. Bye Ludwig,” she told him, then hung up the call. Ludwig slipped his own phone into his pocket and, since he had been given permission to use her kitchen contents, he helped himself to a glass of water.


End file.
